Larkin, generally acknowledged as Britain's finest post-war poet, along with Betjeman, wrote only two novels, both in his fertile early period. 'Jill' is his first serious attempt at sustained prose writing, and the result is a fine, stimulating book.

'Jill' began life as a cross between a girls' school novel pastiche and mild pornography called 'Trouble at Willow Gables', an origin that manifests itself throughout the finished work, bubbling salaciously beneath the surface of John Kemp's escapist scribblings. John, of course, is a typically Larkin-esque protagonist - socially awkward, an outsider, and, like his creator, constantly struggling with the remains of a stammer. The portrait is, as only Larkin could draw it, at once affectionately tongue-in-cheek and unremittingly brutal (John's intrusion on the tea-party early on is to die for). What may alarm Larkin's readers (having recovered from the shock delivered by the life and letters) is the deep-rooted distrust of the imaginative faculties emerging in 'Jill'.

We watch with horror as John begins to invent a younger sister for himself with a paranoia approaching downright madness. His creation is born from malice and a sense of exclusion, exacerbated by humiliation upon humiliation heaped upon his shoulders and, having its inception in unhealthy emotion, his fantasy sends him spiralling deeper into a delusion culminating in his drunken violation of the girl on to whom he has transferred his invented sibling.

'Jill' is a novel of both tremendous wit and cruelty. The Larkin of the poems is clearly visible here, brooding on deception and deprivation, gently self-deprecating. 'Jill' is an essential read for admirers of Larkin, providing an important insight into his life and thought, as well as a glimpse of an angry, ambitious young man before the weariness set in.

Phillip Larkin is known as perhaps the greatest British pPoet of the second half of the twentieth century. This book, of a northern, working class boy's first term at Oxford in the grim fall of 1940, offers unparalelled reading pleasure.

Larkin wrote this book in his early twenties, when the war was still very much in progress, and its outcome uncertain. That is only one of the reason I'd recommend it over the many romanticized WW II stories written afterwards, especially in the last decade, when revisionist history takes over, and we sketch characters of the forties as if they had the insights of the nineties.

Here you get the real thing. The war is a presence in the gritty little details of life -- the privations, the routine of putting up the blackout in defense of bombing raids. Towards the end of the book, the hero returns to his northern town to find it devastated.

I found Jill, and Larkin's second and final novel, A Girl in Winter, also set during war-time, bracing, even comforting reading during the first months of the current war. We see that, despite being shadowed by larger events, the inner workings of personality -- love, identity, pride -- carry on, in spite of all.

I wish Larkin had written more novels, or more novelists could write like him.

This is a comprehensive and amazing inside look at John Wayne's greatest dream...to recreate on film the TRUE story of one of the most inspiring events in US History. The book explains how the Duke spent 14 years preparing for this film and an equal number of years working to pay the expenses this movie cost him PERSONALLY. He believed in this project so much that he risked EVERYTHING putting it on film....sparing NO EXPENSE...in time, effort and money. The book is packed with glossy color and b&w pictures....interviews, and background information about EVERY aspect of this great motion picture....The Alamo.

This is one of the greatest books concerning the making of Alamo movies. Full of rare pictures and interesting stories behind the making of the epic film. This is one you won't want to pass up

The Journals of Lewis and Clark are about as fundamental a Western American treatise as you will find. Tackling this leviathan is a daunting challenge but one with great rewards. Clark copied Lewis word for word on many entries so it takes true dedication to read every word of the text. Throw in the maps, the preparatory work of Lewis and related ephemera for good measure. This will not only require a huge investment in time but several feet of book space. At [the price] per volume you will also limit out your credit card. Is it worth it? No other work can provide the background for understanding the ensuing growth of the West. Every single day of the journey is accounted for and there are tediously detailed accounts of the geography and navigational coordinates. Be prepared for some of the most creative spelling ever recorded. Once read it is an experience never to be forgotten and you will not regret the effort.

The author of the most-recent biography of Meriwether Lewis recommends this series by Moulton as the best available collection of the Journals.

Read right from the journals, alternating between Lewis and Clark (and so designated), their account of discovery, bravery, survival, not to mention sheer luck at times. This book cannot replace the editorials and depth of "Undaunted Courage" by Stephen Ambrose; but it is very enjoyable and informative to read directly from the authors of this historic expedition. I am amazed at everything they accomplished (including finding the time and energy to write journal entries).

John Bakeless takes the journals of both Lewis and Clark and edits them into this fascinating, primary account. He concentrates mainly on thejournal entries for the journey to the Pacific. This is a good, well-priced shortened version of the journals, with only the highlights, for Lewis and Clark fans.

During the period covered by this volume, Lewis and Clark were beyond the portage around Great Falls. During the time described in the subtitle to this volume, July 28 - November 1, 1805, L&C were leaving Three Forks, crossing the continental divide, and meeting the Shoshone Indians, with whom they traded for horses with which to cross the Bitteroot Mountains. The portage around Great Falls is described in Volume 4 of Moulton's edition of the journals.

This volume details the thoughts of Lewis and Clark, and others as they determine which major waterway to follow to the Great Falls of the Missouri, their first significant obstacle. The portage around the great falls is more than they imagined, and is explained in great detail. It explores the many new discoveries in the interior of what is now central and western Montana. This volume also further expounds the growing problems with the unpredictable 'white bear', and the harshness of spring and summer weather in Montana.

...

Tom Clark's Junkets on a Sad Planet takes its title from Leigh Hunt's nickname for Keats. Pronounced with a Cockney accent, John Keats sounded much like 'Junkets', and so the young poet became known to his early supporter and friend. The publisher terms this a 'poetic novel'; the book is a mixture of brief prose pieces and poems of varying length. All are enjoyable, and many are quite beautiful. For those unfamiliar with Keats's life, there is a rough chronology and brief biographies of his family and friends.

Clark does a wonderful job of charting Keats's evolution as both poet and young man. And though Junkets on a Sad Planet may chronicle a tragic life, it is never depressing. Clark allows Keats to speak to us in the familiar voice of his famous letters, with his warmth, charm, and endless striving intact. The final section, 'Coda: Echo and Variation' is the best evocation of Keats's final days I have read.

If you enjoy this work, I would also recommend Tony Harrison's 1981 poem 'A Kumquat for John Keats' and any collection of Countee Cullen's work which includes his beautiful 'To John Keats, Poet, at Spring Time'.

I like it alot! send it to me please. i will love you forever and ever!!

Cambridge historian Christopher Clark's 2000 study of the Kaiser is, despite its brevity, a concise and balanced account of Wilhelm's life into which he incorporates much recent historiography of Wilhelmine Germany. Clark paints a picture of an emperor whose power and influence gradually weakened over time. By the late 1890s, he argues, Wilhelm had 'emerged as a significant factor in high politics, launching ambitious (if often doomed) legislative schemes, intriguing with individual ministers, and gradually hollowing out the authority of the chancellor.' (117) In the realm of foreign policy, however, Clark argues that Wilhelm became increasingly 'marginal'to the real centers of policy making,' particularly after several notable blunders including the Zabern incident and the Daily Telegraph affair, both of which witnessed his impetuous and 'undiplomatic' style, to the horror of professional diplomats.
With regard to the outbreak of war in 1914, however, Clark argues that while Helmuth von Moltke, chief of the German General Staff, 'pressed his sovereign'at crucial moments' in the months leading to war, at no point did the monarch 'surrender the power of decision to the military.' (215) Far from being a warmonger, Clark asserts, Wilhelm was 'reluctant to entangle Germany in a continental war,' (214) and maintained 'his own outlook on policy [that] differed in crucial ways from that of the military leadership.' (216) He never supported the 'preventive war' strategy espoused by top army officials, nor did he regard mobilization as irreversible. Clark points to Wilhelm's attempts to mediate between Serbia and Austria-Hungary as evidence of his 'reluctance to allow Germany to be sucked into a Balkan engagement' in 1914. (218) This initiative was 'overridden by the chancellor,' Clark notes, which provides further proof of the Kaiser's declining stature in affairs of the state'affairs he could 'influence'but did not control.' (218)
What of Wilhelm's involvement in the prosecution of and involvement in the Great War? Clark concludes that the Kaiser's 'capacity to exercise a command function was narrowly circumscribed,' which considerably diluted his influence among Germany's military leaders. Furthermore, he 'lacked an overview of strategic planning' leading up to and including the early stages of the war because, Clark maintains, the general staff regarded him as a security risk and refused to take him in to their confidence. As a result, he was displaced from the center of military affairs, shielded from much bad news from the front, and 'was excluded from the sphere of operational command of the land forces'though he did exercise a more direct'influence on the wartime operations of the German navy.' (227) Clark warns that one should not push the argument that the Kaiser was marginal too far. 'By virtue of his position,' he writes, Wilhelm was a 'figure of crucial importance,' namely for his authority to 'appoint and dismiss 'his' officers and officials.' (228) He concludes that although he was not vital militarily to the day to day running of the war, the emperor was a central figure in the 'processes by which some of the most central policy issues of the war years were resolved.' (244)

This is a great, short study for the student and buff.

I just finished this book, and found it very interesting and useful. It is not intended as a "life" of the Kaiser, but only as an analysis of his rule. I was looking for this kind of focus, so was happy with the book. The author's main thesis is that under the German constitution in effect at the time, the Kaiser had little actual power. While able to influence events, he could not control them. Only in the German shipbuilding plan did the Kaiser play a leading role. The author feels that Wilhelm sincerely wanted to avoid war in 1914. Actually, most of the book is not about the war years, giving the reader a more balanced overview of the reign. It is suggested that Wilhelm was one of the first "media" personalities, partly because of his penchant of making off-the-cuff remarks that continually got him bad publicity. The author discusses these various remarks based on the context in which they were made and the audience they were intended for, in a partially sucessful attempt to show they were not so outrageous as usually presented. While the book is not a whitewash of the Kaiser, the author does try to show he was not the arch-fiend of Allied propaganda. Since this is my personal view, I was in sympathy with the author's approach.

As we began the novel several students commented, "I don't understand this book." This is frequently a sign that we are going to get some fine work done! Sociology ought to be of some use for understanding the unexpected--and Harrell Clark has woven an intricate portrait of everyday life. We were much aided by the presence of a student from central Texas who asserted to the Minnesotans that these were familiar lives. The class eventually arrived at several key insights. "Where you grow up has to do with who you are." "Behavior alters behavior." And most helpful for our journey: "Two people witness an event, explain it completely and very differently."

Keepers of the Earth is the story of a Texas community, its local black conjurer and land-owning white family brought to confusion by oil-money greed, resurgent familial feelings and jealousy. The author leads readers throught the rituals of Uncle Cefus' "great hand" in reuniting the murdered coachwhip snakes with their rightful homeland, and in the process leads us to believe that doing right by others may do more for luck and success than any amount of hard work. Not only is the novel poetic, but passionate, clearly exhibiting the author's love of folklore. The ficticious account is equally instructive in the lost art of conjuring (which slipped away in the 1960's). An enjoyable and fun book to read.

Last month I saw Izu's original platinum prints at the Freer Gallery in Washington, D.C., and the richness and subtlety of the gray tones in the photographs nearly brought me to tears. On my return home, I bought the book from Amazon as a Christmas present to myself.

Izu is a special photographer and this is a special book. The reproductions are superb; this is the highest-quality photography book I own (I am a photographer).

If "Sacred Places" is out-of-stock, it is worth seeking out. Along with David Heald's "Architecture of Silence" (which I also own--available from Amazon), it will form the basis of the "mini-library" I am assembling for the little meditation corner of my photo studio. It's hard not to get hyberbolic about these two books, but they are not only art but also true touchstones of the spirit.

Izu currently is on exhibit at the Freer Museum in DC. In one photo an ancient Budhist temple is illuminated despite being surrounded by the shadow of the mountains it is nested within. I marvelled aloud at this incredible, seemingly impossible shot and another patron walked up as said, "The man has patience."
I bought the book at the gift shop. Five years ago I bought a book of Izu's Angar Wat shots. He's phenomenal. I don't know if Adams would grin or sweat. The platinum process is exquisite. His composure travels into the mystic.

This is an amazing book and tells you everything you need to know. I found it much more helpful than "All U Can Eat" by Lela Nargi, which I bought first---less "humorous" patter, and more real information. This book is a real treasure and I would recommend it to anyone just learning to cook.

It has everything a person needs to know about cooking! It has great definitions and terms as well as tips! There are also some easy recipes!